Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a trend towards liberalization of long-held policies regarding women but has anything changed for the country’s LGBTQ population?

The Saudi government recently announced that on June 24, women would finally be allowed to drive, and even let ten women swap their foreign drivers licenses for Saudi licenses. The move will make Iran the only country where women are not allowed to drive cars – or even motorcycles.

Lifting the prohibition against women drivers is just one of the reforms taking place as part of a push for “liberalization” led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Movie theaters are opening again, music concerts will fill the air with song, and women will even be allowed to attend soccer matches at public stadiums.

Pinker says that liberalization in the Middle East, as in the Western world, is mostly driven by generational turnover. As younger Saudis age and replace the older generations, they will likely bring their values to bear more and more upon Saudi culture and society.

Liberalization in the Middle East still lags behind the rest of the world. After all, it took ten years to lift the prohibition on women driving. Then-Saudi King Abdullah liked the idea but thought society wouldn’t go for it.

It may take even longer for liberalization to encompass protecting the rights of LGBTQ Saudis.

In the meantime, those of us who enjoy more protections must continue to support activists working for change in countries with little to no protections for LGBTQ people and demand that our governments support the human and civil rights of LGBTQ people worldwide — even as we continue to fight for our own at home.